Proposals for the scheme were submitted to Solihull Council for a third time last month after being turned down twice last year.

But Cemetery Development Services Ltd, the agent working on behalf of the applicant, has continued to insist there was a need for a dedicated Muslim cemetery to resolve a shortage of plots for followers of Islam.

One resident living near the Hub site said he called the police after up to 300 people turned up at the venue on Tuesday night.

“At 9pm there were cars parked all over Hermitage Road,” he said.

“A neighbour said it had been going on since 6pm.

“People were throwing abuse back and forth.

“I called the police because I felt intimidated.”

The mosque petition, hosted on website change.org, said: “Solihull’s residents have not been consulted or informed of plans to turn the old ambulance station on Hermitage Road in to a ‘masjid’, otherwise known as a mosque.

“It has been put forward as Solihull Community Hub and the planning application stated it would be a conference and training centre.

“It is not acceptable for this to have happened without the residents of Solihull being given the chance to have their say.”

No-one from the Hub could be contacted for comment.

Solihull Imam, Dr Issam Ghannam, said he knew little of the allegation but Muslim worshippers currently had to travel to mosques in Birmingham to express their faith.

He said: “There are 20,000 Muslims in Solihull and we haven’t got a mosque here, it’s how the regulations of the council are.

“You need a lot of money and access for cars.”

Andy Jones, who added his name to the petition, condemned some comments on the document as “bordering on racism”.

He said: “This is not a point about race, it’s about the fact that this building is being used for something that was not detailed in the planning application.

“A true community centre would be beneficial for the area, if it is inclusive to the entire community regardless of faith, orientation or belief.”